SHERIFF JOHN MACON POAG - KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY -
APRIL 12, 1905
Tate County Sheriff's Office has two sheriff in it's history that were killed in the line of duty. On Wednesday, April 12, 1905 Sheriff John Macon Poag was shot and killed by a mob of masked men who entered his jail for the purpose of liberating a murder suspect. The sheriff's order that the men leave was met with a refusal, whereupon Sheriff John Poag fired, wounding one man. The mob returned fire killing the sheriff, and then left without the prisoner.
Eventually 13 men were charged with Sheriff Poag's murder. Newspapers of that day reported that most if not all escaped punishment. Sheriff Poag was 47 years old at the time of his death.
SHERIFF WILLIAM FRANKLIN BRAY - KILLED IN LINE OF DUTY - MARCH 20, 1898
March 20, 1898 Sheriff William Bray was killed and Deputy Sheriff Homer Gilmore dangerously wounded when an arguement began with Ashely Cocke, a prominent and wealthy planter of north Mississippi. Cocke emptied his pistol at Gilmore striking him three times. Cocke then walked across the street, reloading his pistol. Sheriff Bray, hearing the shooting, hastened to the scene and getting within a few feet of Cocke, drew his pistol and ordered Cocke to throw up his hands. Cocke yelled back at the sheriff not to come any further. Bray fired, but missed and then Cocke, took aim and shot the sheriff through the heart.
DEPUTY SHERIFF JEFF WALKER WILLIAMS - KILLED IN LINE OF DUTY - OCTOBER 16, 1932
Sunday, October 16, 1932 Deputy Sheriff Jeff Williams, 23, was shot and killed by a man he arrested for robbery at a home seven miles south of Senatobia. Just after the officer made the arrest the suspect grabbed Deputy Williams' pistol and shot him.
Deputy Williams' father, the Tate County Sheriff, organized a posse of more than 75 men who surrounded a nearby home where the suspect was thought to be hiding. When someone in the house opened fire the posse returned fire killing four men inside the home. The men, a father, his two sons, and his son-in-law were relatives of the suspect. The suspect was not there. He was captured in Memphis, Tennessee, December 13, 1932.
PHOTO AND INFORMATION
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